Honor Killings: Muslim Moms in India Strangle Daughters

Two Muslim mothers in India are under arrest, accused of the "honor killings" of their daughters who married Hindu men.

The women, 19-year-old Zahida and Husna, 26 (who only use one name), were neighbors. According to a report in the New York Daily News, they ran off earlier this month to marry Hindu men -- unions that both the Muslim and Hindu communities do not allow.

They returned on Tuesday and tried to get protection from local police. Instead, they were sent home to make peace with their mothers. But there was no peace to be had -- police say the mothers helped each other strangle their daughters, violating a pledge they had signed to promise not to hurt the women.

"We killed them because they brought shame to our community," Khatun, one of the mothers, told the Indian Express after her arrest. "How could they elope with Hindus? They deserved to die. We have no remorse."

"When I woke up yesterday, I found my mother sitting beside my sister's body," Zahida's older sister said. "She said she had killed her. I ran to the police station and informed them. Soon we got to know Husna had also been killed."

Police are looking for a third woman who they say helped the mothers.

Last week India's Supreme Court said that people who commit honor killings should receive the death penalty. The court slammed the practice as "barbaric" and "feudal."